All According To Plan
by VisionsInCombat
Summary: Multiple worlds have fallen to destruction, by various means. A lone Divine driven by an all-encompassing plan has wrenched the Yondaime Hokage from his grisly fate. The rest will have to be left to a newborn with a demon fox inside him, and some help from beyond the void of timespace. Naruto/KH/LoZ/other stuff x-over, Pairings undecided. T for safety.


Words

"Speaky Words"  
'Thinky Words'  
_Flashback __Words__  
"__Speaky __Flashback __Words__"  
'__Thinky __Flashback __Words__'  
__**"**__**Divine**__**/**__**Demon **__**Speaky **__**Words**__**"  
'**__**Divine**__**/**__**Demon **__**Thinky **__**Words**__**"  
**_Insert Technique Name Here  
_Insert __A __Technique __Used __In __Flashback __Here__  
__**Insert **__**a **__**Divine **__**Or **__**Demon **__**Technique **__**Here**_

_SONG __FOR __THIS __CHAPTER__: __Terrible __Fate__ - __Theophany __by __MirroredJigsaw__.  
__http__ (__colon __fslash __fslash__) __www__ (__dot__) __youtube__ (__dot__) __com__ (__fslash__) __watch__?__v__WlZvM__8__XAvp__8_

* * *

Prologue Part 1 - Ask Not For Whom The Gear Turns

_The __Yondaime __Hokage__, __Minato __Namikaze__, __looked __over at __his __son__, __born __only __an __hour __or __so __ago__. __He __knew __what __he __had __to __do__, __and __so __did __Kushina __Uzumaki__, __his __wife__. __The __claw __that __was __piercing __both __of __them __through __the __stomach__, __now __hovering __mere __inches __from __the __young __Naruto__'__s __face__, __belonged __to __the __Kyuubi __no __Kitsune__, __the __demon __fox __that __had __been __set __free __by __a __strange __man __in __an __orange __mask__. __And __as __it __stood__, b__oth __parents __had __agreed__ - __the __mother __rather __reluctantly__ - __to __seal __the __fox __into __their __son__, __so __he __could __grow __up __to __learn __how __to __control __the __beast__, __and __surpass __all __other __ninja __in __the known __world__... __and __hopefully __unite __the __warring __nations__, __ultimately __bringing __peace __to __the __land__._

_It __was __a __bit __of __a __long shot__, __but __he __had __gotten __her __to __agree__._

_But __of __course__, __he __didn__'__t __expect __the __village __to __honor __his __son __and __herald __him __as __a __hero__, __no__. __He __knew __damn __well __how __civilians__, __and __a __good __chunk __of __ninja__, __treated __jinchuuriki__. __Minato __sighed __painfully__. '__Of __course __he __won__'__t __be __a __hero__, __the __whole __god-damned __village __will __view __him __as __the __Kyuubi __reborn__. __But with any luck, __he__'__ll __be __strong __enough __to __make __it__...' __With __that__, __he __swallowed __his __worries __and __gave __a __genuine __smile __towards __his __newborn __son__._

"_A__-__any __last __words__, __love__...?" __Minato __chuckled __wearily __to __his __wife__, feeling his chakra drain out slowly as it manifested for his final jutsu__._

"_N__-__naruto__..." __The __crimson__-__haired __kunoichi weakly __began __to __the __child __before __them__. "__Be __sure __to__... __to __always __eat __your __vegetables__... __take __plenty __of __baths__... __avoid __the __three __vices __of a __shinobi__... __don__'__t __ever __drink __in __excess__... __don__'__t __get __overly __lecherous__... __and __don__'__t __be __frivolous __with __money__... __find __yourself __a __good __girl __to __love__... __someone __like __your __mother__... __and__..."_

"_And __never__, __ever __give __up__, in anything you do, no matter what," __Minato __finished__, __sensing __their __time __was __up__._

"_We __love __you__, __son__," __The __two __said __to __their __child__. "__We__'__ll __always __love __you__!" __Minato __then __powered __all __of __his __remaining __chakra __into __his __final __technique__._

"_SHIKI __FUJIN__!"_

* * *

In another realm, many quantum leaps away by modern transdimensional theories, stood a massive tower. Neither 'massive' nor 'tower' really did it the justice it deserved, however - the thing was positively colossal. The fact that it was the only piece of architecture - or anything, for that matter - in the realm only added to the perception that... well, it was fucking huge, no two ways about it. Mind, it's rather hard to gauge size on a plane that has absolutely zilch to compare sizes with, but suffice that it was big enough to dwarf a certain king of dragons, and make him feel like an ant. As much as one can go on a rant about the relative sizes of towers and dragons, however, the sheer hugeness of the tower wasn't its only impressive aspect.

Covering all sides of the tower were millions upon millions of gears, varying in size from 'toddler's hand' to 'adult behemoth skull'. Every gear interlocked with at least one other, with most of them interlocking with three or four. Truthfully, this could, in all rights, have been called a clock tower. If, well, there were a clock face on it anywhere. In place of a clock face, there was simply another gear - 'simply', of course, being a poor word to use, as this 'simple' gear was easily a mile and a half long. And, oddly, even while every other gear clicked another turn, some more rapidly than others, the large gear sat unmoving.

Truths be told, the largest gear had only clicked four turns in the past sixteen thousand years, supposedly signifying major events. The first time, at the beginning of said sixteen millenia, was when sentience was granted to the primates of the Material Realms. The second, only a thousand years after, when sapience was granted upon many of the races of the Material Realms, including several mammals, reptiles, avians, amphibians, insects, arachnids, and even some arboreous beings. [1] The third was quite a long time afterwards, when one human known as the Rikudo Sennin developed the use of an energy known as 'chakra' on one world, and the fourth was a relatively short time afterward, during the Second Great Shinobi War on the same world... when the Divine known as 'Maro the Panoptic' claimed this clockwork realm for himself.

Maro, himself, was known by many titles, chief among them being 'The God of Machinations'. In his opinion, however, the name didn't fit, as it seemed to imply that his domain was strictly 'Machinating', and nothing more. In truth, while he did do a lot of plotting and planning, his domains included secrecy, wisdom, order, knowledge, light, and darkness. 'Machinations' just happened to be what he was best known for, much to his distaste.

Now, Maro did indeed follow his own plan, that much was certain. It was a plan where he knew and accepted that he was just a small part of it, a plan that relied on hundreds upon _thousands_ of small adjustments in the Material Realms, and a plan that was ultimately older and more powerful than Kami themselves. [2] Maro knew not where the plan would lead, but he had observed every part of it moving harmoniously with every other, seamlessly working out in the favor of all parties involved. He had named the plan "The Flow", much to the annoyance of the more chaotic deities - after all, they were the ones who had initially coined the term 'go with the flow', long before Maro had taken the name and applied it to a regimented plan.

After traveling to this Realm completely by accident (or, if you asked 'The Panoptic' himself, on a whim) Maro had done some research into the clockwork tower, and realized that the gears inside and outside of the tower corresponded with tasks, individuals, or events in the Material Realms, whose importance was denoted by the size of the gear. Further insight had shown him that the gears corresponded with the Flow perfectly. Maro had initially been fascinated by the attention to detail and the alignment of the gears to specific aspects of the Material Realms, but all in all had almost abandoned it as an artifact of a lost age - until he realized how old the construct was, which was when the large gear turned for the fourth time.

The tower was dated _nineteen __trillion __years __before __Material __Realm __chronolocation __could __trace__._

Upon this discovery, Maro had immediately cast ward upon ward around this dimension, sealing it off from the prying eyes and destructive hands of Outrealmers of all kinds. Immortality be damned if he let a prize this wondrous get destroyed by Divines with a grudge against the secretive schemer - assuming, of course, the primordial edifice could be destroyed in the first place. Floor upon floor of the tower had been given a purpose, which he had found appealing to his... capabilities. There was a room with monitors and video feeds capable of connecting to any given coordinates on any Realm in existence, including several that he had never known of at all. There was a room that contained nothing save for a huge black box, constructed of a material that was nigh-unbreakable (even to a being as powerful as he was, Maro noted with respect) that held within it a simple filing cabinet, which Maro had filled with secrets of the Endless Universe - some that even the other Divines should never be meant to see. There was a room whose door was like a safe, which held the liberated magical items of countless worlds that Maro had visited on the brink of their destruction. There was even a library filled with a truly supreme repertoire of magical texts relating to the aspects of spellcasting in all worlds.

For all the rooms in the tower - hell, for the wonders of the tower itself - Maro had quickly forsaken any worries as to his fortune in finding this Realm. But the question that he had asked upon his discovery of the tower's age had stuck with him for quite some time.

If this tower was supposedly representing events in the Material Realms, what in the Endless Universe was it tracking for nineteen trillion years before said Realms existed? Were even the movements of the Gods themselves necessary for the plan to come to fruition?

Were that the case, the Flow was more than likely doomed to failure. The Divines had refused to act on several separate worlds in the Material Realms for several different reasons. As a result, Maro had watched many worlds erupt in poisonous green explosions, observed mechanical entities from beyond the gates of the void eradicate life on several more, and on two in particular, he had witnessed the moon crash into another, smaller, clock tower, snuffing out all life on the world in an explosion of catastrophic proportions... while the other's inherent energy had been drained into a massive black crystal, causing it to crumble to dust. All of this because the presiding deities had decided to have a disagreement on what flavors of tea and what types of alcohol they should partake in to celebrate the victories they'd never get a chance to experience.

Maro had been infuriated at the thought, at first. So many lives lost, lives that would never experience the Flow in its entirety, and his _brethren_ were the idiotic clods at fault.

Well, he would certainly change that. But now, there were things to do.

The panoptic god rose from his throne in the video feed room, hearing a loud metallic groan from outside. The sound from outside could only mean one thing - the largest gear had begun another click in its turn. Activating his most prized ability, _**Panoptic Hindsight**_, he scoured every one of the Material Realms for what may have set this off.

Tracing the ambient energy of the massive gear - no small feat, even for Maro himself - his Hindsight had led him to a Realm of ninja, where a ferocious crimson fox, the size of an Ettin, had just laid waste to a small city. Nine tails fanned out behind it.

Maro recognised it from the lore of the Material Realms. This was the Kyuubi no Kitsune, Kurama.

The scene played out as hundreds of ninja bombarded it with blasts of fire, jets of water, and earthen spires. The elemental barrage did little to deter the fox, as it simply charged an insane amount of energy and fired a sphere of it at... what appeared to be a rock sculpture of four faces, carved into the side of a cliff. Perched on one of the faces was a young blond man, who shared the face he was standing on. The young man threw something at the ball, which then proceeded to vanish.

Becoming slightly impatient with the vision, Maro fast-forwarded to the last moments before the gear began to turn, where he witnessed the same young man, a red-haired young woman, and an infant present in front of the same fox as before. The two adults were run through by one of the claws of the fox, who had been held down by strange, magical chains. A few words appeared to be spoken - nothing worth noting, Maro figured - and then, in a flash, the fox was sucked half into the young man, and half into the infant. The two adults fell to the ground, deceased, while the infant had its mouth open in what seemed to be a wailing cry.

Maro's _**Panoptic Hindsight**_ flashed out at that point, not even a second having passed in the clockwork realm, as the information was rapidly processed by the divine's mind. In a moment, a surge of dimensional energy flooded the area, signifying a rip in timespace. Maro smiled, and was gone in a swirl of shadows.

All according to plan.

* * *

_Unknown __Location_

The blond man had shut his eyes, and was falling.

Truthfully, that was all he felt. After the seal had been placed, his spark of life had withered and crumbled, and what was left was falling. He, the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, was falling to Kami-knows-where. Wherever it was, he was thankful that gravity still worked.

A resounding, echoing smack - and a sharp pain on his head - were sound reminders that the ground did not fail him either, even in death. And the fact that he could breathe was a promising hint that air was still present. Shrugging off the fall - It hadn't been _that_ painful, he noted blearily - he opened his eyes, and the sight before him made him cry out in shock.

Before him was an absolutely gargantuan tower that appeared to be comprised of gears. As high as he could see, there were only gears, spinning and clicking to a strangely rhythmic cadence, save for one massive gear near the top that seemed to not move at all.

"Where on Earth am I?" Minato murmured to himself.

"_**That **__**can **__**be **__**answered **__**more **__**easily **__**if **__**you **__**were **__**to **__**think **__**outside **__**of **__**your **__**Earth**__**,"**_ came a deep baritone, surround-sound voice.

Minato reached for a kunai, searching for the owner of the voice. "Show yourself!" he cried. When he received no response, he figured his title would assist him. "As the Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, I demand you make yourself visible!"

_**"**__**A **__**lofty **__**order **__**from **__**one **__**so **__**small**__**,"**_ the voice chuckled, _**"**__**Especially **__**one **__**who **__**is **__**reaching **__**for **__**a **__**weapon **__**that **__**does **__**not **__**exist**__**."**_

Minato stiffened. He could have sworn his kunai pouch was with him... Then again, he had _technically_ just died. No telling where his weapons could have gotten to after an incident like that. He decided to straighten up with an exasperated sigh, and calmed himself - screaming at disembodied voices never helped anyone. "I'm guessing you're... Death?" He murmured uneasily.

_**"Not precisely**__**, **__**Yondaime **__**Hokage **__**Namikaze **__**Minato**__**,"**_ the voice rumbled calmly. _**"**__**It **__**would **__**be significantly **__**more **__**accurate **__**to **__**call **__**me **__**Kami**__**, **__**though **__**you **__**would **__**still **__**be **__**incorrect**__**."**_

Of course, Minato wasn't expecting that answer, and the implication that the being was divine was not lost on the bright man. But he didn't become Hokage by believing everything he heard. "I apologize, but I can't very well take that at face value."

_**"**__**There **__**is **__**no **__**need **__**to **__**apologize**__**, **__**Yellow **__**Flash**__**,"**_ the voice echoed. _**"**__**I **__**wouldn**__**'**__**t **__**expect **__**you **__**to believe me immediately**__**. **__**But**__**, **__**however **__**slightly**__**, **__**I **__**digress**__**. **__**Far **__**more **__**important **__**than **__**forgiveness **__**is **__**the **__**fate **__**of **__**your **__**son**__**, **__**Uzumaki **__**Naruto**__**."**_

"What does my son have to do with this? And... and where is Kushina?" Minato . Surely, if he were here, she should have followed him...

_**"...**__**Your **__**wife **__**did **__**not **__**share **__**the **__**same **__**fate **__**as **__**you**__**."**_

Minato's face brightened. "So she's still alive?" He asked. That meant Naruto could live with a mother! Perfect!

...Although, he didn't receive a reply.

"My wife, is she alive...?" He asked again, his smile having been replaced with a panicked grimace.

Silence.

"ANSWER ME!" Minato shouted. "I NEED TO KNOW IF-"

_**"**__**Uzumaki **__**Kushina**__**,"**_ the voice said in a pained, but authoritative, voice, _**"**__**Did **__**not **__**follow **__**you **__**to **__**this **__**realm**__**. **__**She **__**has **__**passed **__**with **__**the **__**Shinigami**__**. **__**As **__**for **__**your **__**son**__**... **__**It **__**would **__**be **__**best **__**if **__**you **__**were **__**more **__**calm **__**for **__**that**__**."**_

Minato fell to his knees, and remained silent for a long while. The voice, perchance knowing what was going through the Yondaime's head, followed suit. The silence seemed to stretch on for hours, even if it were only half of one in reality. Then:

"Show yourself," Minato said simply. "Please."

* * *

For a short while, nothing happened, as the secretive Divine considered the request - because it was now indeed a request, and not an order given him by a mortal. A powerful mortal with a lofty title and a strong heart and mind, yes. But still a mortal.

But a mortal, he decided, would be more than enough.

Maro appeared in a swirl of shadows, in the form he used most often for his confrontations with Material Realm beings. He chose a body that was seven feet in height, and wrapped it in a thick black leather hooded long coat, whose deep hood extended far enough forward to hide most of his facial features... save two shining, bright aquamarine eyes. The long coat was zipped up to where the neck of the form would be, and was worn in tandem with a pair of black leather and galvanized steel armor pants, and black galvanized steel boots. His Material form also wore black galvanized steel gauntlets, and pauldrons of the same material on its shoulders.

_**"**__**I **__**am **__**come**__**, **__**Yondaime**__**,"**_ He let out in his booming surround-sound voice. _**"**__**What **__**would **__**you **__**have **__**me **__**assist **__**with**__**?"**_ The Panoptic chuckled inwardly in amusement, his subservient actions to a mortal placing him in a better mood than usual.

Without lifting his gaze, Minato brought up the first question on his mind. "Where am I... and who am I addressing?"

_**"**__**Odd **__**questions **__**to **__**begin **__**with**__**, **__**Minato**__**,"**_ Maro replied. _**"**__**But **__**perfectly **__**within **__**my **__**power **__**to **__**answer**__**. **__**We **__**are **__**in **__**the **__**Realm **__**known **__**as **__**Fate**__**'**__**s **__**Nexus**__**. **__**As **__**for **__**myself**__**, **__**I **__**am **__**known **__**as **__**Maro**__**, **__**the **__**God **__**of **__**Machinations**__**."**_

Minato looked up at this 'God of Machinations' with an odd mix of curiosity and apathy, before chuckling apologetically. "I don't know what more to ask of you," he admitted, "But your presence at least confirms that either I'm not going insane, or I'm already waist deep in crazy."

Maro inwardly laughed at that. _**"'**__**Twould **__**not **__**be **__**the **__**first **__**time **__**I **__**have **__**heard **__**that**__**, **__**young **__**Hokage**__**."**_ He took a step towards Minato. _**"**__**I **__**have **__**heard **__**that statement **__**twice **__**before**__**, **__**when **__**my **__**two **__**disciples **__**had **__**each **__**come**__**, **__**separately**__**, **__**to **__**this **__**realm**__**."**_

Minato stood slowly, keeping his gaze on the shadow-wrapped divine. "Meaning I'm not the first one who has arrived here...? Aside from you, I mean."

_**"**__**Correct**__**, **__**Yondaime**__**,"**_ Maro answered patiently. _**"**__**After **__**we **__**have **__**established **__**why **__**the **__**future **__**of **__**Uzumaki **__**Naruto **__**holds **__**significance**__**, **__**they **__**shall **__**make **__**their **__**presences **__**known**__**."**_

"About that..."

* * *

A/N: Alrighty, first chapter - or rather, prologue - is now up. I know it's secretive and not a hell of a lot has been explained, but that's kinda how I wanted the introduction to go.

It's also a lot shorter than I wanted it to be, but I figured "Meh, why not leave even more to imagination." This may piss some people off. While I respect those people's opinions, understand that this story is under 'Mystery' for a reason. Leaving a lot of puzzles to be solved is kind of the point.

Not a clue how long it'll take for the next chapter to go up, but it shouldn't be too terribly long.

Read, Review... and if you like this story, Follow/Fave. Be aware that this is my first posted fic, constructive criticism involving everything from grammar to plot is welcome and appreciated. Flames will be ignored in their entirety, unless one is trolling for pure comedy - can't fault you for that, and can't prevent the procreation of lulz in any way. So.

Peace,  
VisionsInCombat

Next Time: Prologue Part 2 - I Suppose Introductions Are In Order


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